By Rakhi Kundra ’17,  Staff Writer

On October 10, 2014 Newark Academy welcomed Mirta Ojito, the first speaker in the 2014-15 Newark Academy Global Speaker Series in partnership with the Feinberg Multicultural Assembly. Ojito is a former assistant professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and is a respected journalist. She recently joined the NBC Telemundo television network and has worked for The Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, and The New York Times.

Ojito has covered immigration extensively throughout her career, writing articles and books. Her most recent book was published in 2013 titled Hunting Season: Immigration and Murder in an All-American Town, which focuses on a hate crime in Long Island that involved the killing of an Ecuadorian man by a group of teenagers targeting Hispanic immigrants.

Ojito herself is a Cuban immigrant, and during her visit to Newark Academy she discussed her experiences and opinions facing other immigrants. She specifically addressed the current influx of Central American child immigrants entering the United States today. Ojito began her presentation by talking about how immigration used to be a part of the United State’s identity; it represented diversity and the acceptance of other cultures. Immigration even became known as the “American Gene”. However, according to Ojito, immigration now is being addressed as a “problem” in our country.

Immigrants, according to Ojito, were “hopeful, optimistic, and dreamers.” Having said that, Ojito discussed how the world has made it hard for immigrants to continue to exist. She claimed that people who just want “to move and find a better life elsewhere, can’t; its very difficult.” As someone who has firsthand experience, immigrating to the United States from Cuba when she was a teenager, Ojito offered useful insight and perspective into a topic that is large issue in today’s political world.

Mirta Ojito’s presentation at our school was very beneficial to members of our community, as it was informative and stimulated further thought and discussion about important issues that are going on in the world today. Students that were previously unaware of the issue, such as freshman Alex Chang ’17 found the presentation very enlightening. Chang stated that “having Mirta Ojito speak at our school was a great learning experience, especially in terms of spreading cultural awareness. I thought her presentation was quite thoughtful and mentally stimulating”.

Her presentation stirred debate among Newark Academy students over the controversial issue of immigration as well. Anu Sharma, President of Think Tank, Newark Academy’s current events discussion club said that Ojito’s presentation “started conversations about immigration reform among many people, and not just from a political view point, but from an ethical view point as well”. While it is still unclear where Newark Academy students fall on the issue as a whole, Ojito’s presentation did at least start the conversation.

In summation, Ojito’s presentation was able to provide a human face to an issue that Newark Academy students were distanced from. Mr. Kanarek, a faculty advisor of the Global Speakers Committee highlighted,  “It’s important to hear from diverse viewpoints and for each of us to expand our perspective on the world such that it becomes more inclusive of others’ experiences”. Both students and teachers agree that Ojito’s presentation was a key example of what the Global Speaker series stands for.